Listening, Learning, and Praying
June 11, 2020
Dear Christ Church Family,
With the death of George Floyd in police custody, racial tensions embroiled our nation, revealing deep scars and wounds that mar our society. These events reflect the hard and sad legacy of slavery and segregation that plagued our nation for three hundred and forty-five years. Though much changed legally for African Americans with the Civil Rights Act in 1964, much has also remained the same experientially for this community. The United States has long held out the promise of justice and equality for all peoples. However, our nation, in its unique history, has also long been challenged in implementing this ideal for minority communities, especially African Americans.
As Christians, this grieves us. We confess that all humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28; James 3:9). Given this, all are due dignity, respect, and equal treatment as images of their Creator. We are saddened that this is not the reality in our society. We long for the day when God will bring forth justice and equity, righting all the wrongs of our broken and tired world.
We acknowledge that we do not understand all the issues, nor do we have answers for all the problems. That said, it seems like a good season to apply God’s commandment to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19). Let’s strive to become more aware of the pain and frustrations of our African American neighbors—30% of our city’s population—so that we can know how to love them well (Matthew 6:12; 22:39).
To that end, we’d encourage our congregation to listen to the heartfelt pain vocalized by our brother in Christ, Shai Linne, in his well-articulated piece at The Gospel Coalition. You may also find it helpful to watch a film like Just Mercy or Selma. These are both excellent resources for entering into the experience of the African American community. Additionally, we’d like to invite our entire congregation to join us on Friday, June 19th for a communal day of fasting and prayer for our nation in light of the recent racial tensions. A prayer guide for the day will be made available next week.
As a church, our goal is to be salt and light in our city and our world (Matthew 5:13-16). We desire to be people who seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). And so, join us in this humble task of listening, learning, and praying.
As you do so, be assured of our prayers for you, and for our entire city, that you may know the breadth and the length, the height and the depth of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace in Jesus,
Chuck Colson, Pastor
Jim Dickenson, Clerk-of-Session, on behalf of the Session